Vero Amore
by M.Lire
Summary: She she loved him once. She thought it was true love. But then he left. She charged herself with bringing him back, to her, but when she finally goes after him, she finds he is not the man she fell in love with. SasuSaku, NaruHina, Nejiten, Kibaino,  more
1. Chapter 1

**It's my first story, and I've been horridly lazy about uploading it. I've had it ready for a couple of weeks but well, let's see how you feel about it. **

**If it seems dull to you, I implore you to hang on until a bit longer.**

**Updates will be steady for a short while, but sporadic and random thereon out. I'm an impulse writer. I write when I'm in the "mood." **

**I do not own Naruto and I never will. Nothing is being used for any personal profit.**

**Enjoy!**

_Vero Amore_

Chapter 1

_**He Will Not Die**_

_Just one more moment..._ Hyuuga Neji's state of reverie was broken by an annoying knock on his door. He opened his pale, silver eyes, and shifted to his Byakugan to scan the outside to tell who was interrupting him. It was his cousin, Hanabi.

"You and Hinita are called to the Hokage's tower. You are to leave now," Hanabi called through the door.

"Thank you, Lady Hanabi," Neji replied stoically. He detested the main branch, although his hate had waned during recent years. He saw them as unfit to rule, weak. However, his cousin Hinata had come to prove him wrong in recent years. Still, though, she insisted on fawning after this _Jinchuuriki,_ Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto was unworthy of Lady Hinata's affections... and if they ever decided to pursue a real relationship, Neji had no doubt that Hinata would be disowned. Lord Hiashi's sister and one of his former consorts perished in the Kyuubi attack, and he held nothing but disdain for the blond-haired shinobi.

Neji rose, and took his robe from the hook on the door, and then proceeded to dress himself. What could the Hokage possibly want from him?

"Sakura, we are requested at the Hokage's tower." Sakura continued stirring her soup as if no one had said anything to her. Her old mentor, Kakashi, stood in the doorway. "Sakura," he repeated.

"I know, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied, and went back to stirring her soup.

"Now."

"I know, Kakashi-sensei."

"What's wrong, Sakura? You've never been like this. Not for years, at least," Kakashi tilted his head to the side and studied the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Lets see here, what else has been nagging at me for the past 2 and a half years?" Sakura said sarcastically. "The boy I had been in love with the majority of my life left me on a bench without saying goodbye, my best friend is a host to a monster, and now they want to kill each other? It gets to me after awhile."

"You're only making things harder on yourself. Half of your troubles would go away if you got over Sasuke." Kakashi was never this harsh,but Sakura had been brooding for years. It gets to anyone.

"Maybe I can't. I know Itachi's dead but it doesn't make any sense as to why he wouldn't come home!" Sakura snapped, furiously stirring her soup.

"Life's doesn't make sense. And besides, Sasuke knows he'd meet only the executioner's axe if he returned to Konoha. It isn't his home anymore. The village council has sent down the final order. Kill, do not capture."

The words hit Sakura like a smack to the face. "They can't. They'll extinguish the Uchiha forever."

"According to the village council, the Uchiha have never been anything but trouble."

Sakura was without words. Pouring her soup into a container, she nodded silently. "Lets go."

Flowers... it was kind of a weird obsession, but she was glad to be obsessed. It beat her old obsessions. Boys, mostly. Definitely Sasuke, that was a bad one. Sai for about 10 minutes... okay so a little bit more.

"Yo! Ino!" The blond looked up as a tall teen entered her shop (one of the few buildings that survived the attack on Konoha), followed by a slightly shorter one, a large one, and one who was completely covered in clothes. Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino, respectively. "Lady Tsunade is calling the Rookie Nine to her office... sounds big."

_Rookie nine..._ How long had it been since they could honestly have been called that? Years, really. Sasuke had left, making it 8, and then Naruto had gone for awhile. Now he was gone again. "You mean seven?"

"We were the Rookie Nine for a long time, Ino. We still are, even if one of our pack has gone nose-deaf," Kiba said, smiling at his witty use of canine humour.

"We don't all understand your feline humour, Kiba," Shikamaru groaned.

"Canine!" Kiba yelled, his face reddening.

"Whatever," responded the rest of the shinobi in the shop.

"Bah."

The Rookie Seven, Team Gai, and Kakashi stood before their Hokage solemnly. There was little doubt in their minds about what their true mission was.

"Lady Hokage, you summoned us?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Tsunade hadn't been drinking, as she was still recovering from her coma. "You must all know by now the council's orders. Uchiha Sasuke is to die. I do not agree. But the Village Council overrules my decision. This is why you are all being assigned a mission.  
Officially, you are moving Naruto around in an attempt to avoid Akatsuki detection. Unofficially, you are protecting Naruto and attempting to capture Sasuke.

"Between Neji's ability to lock down his chakra points, Shino's insects and their... abilities, and the tools and skills of everyone else, Sasuke should not stand a match. However, should Uchiha Madara appear, you are to retreat. Even as he is now, we know nothing of what abilities he has gained over the past century.

"You will meet up with Naruto in the Wave Country. Sakura, Kakashi, you know the route. From there, you will proceed to Kirigakure, and from there, to Kumogakure, then to Iwagakure, and finally to Sunagakure. From there, if you have not found Sasuke, you will proceed to Konoha, making sure to pass as close to Amegakure as possible. Kakashi will be the prime leader for this mission, with Neji and Shikamaru serving as seconds.

"Find Uchiha Sasuke and bring him back. So long as I am Hokage, he will not die. Dismissed."

**Dun dun dunnnnn**

**Yes I realize how dreadfully dull that was. But most opening chapters are. **

**I'd like to emphasize that this story does have a good chunk of romantic aspects for other couples. And here's the list**

**SasuSaku**

**NaruHina**

**NejiTen**

**KibaIno**

**KakaRin**

**ShikaTema**

**GaaraXOC**

**If I miss any you'll figure it out. **

**Read and Review, I'll be waiting. **

**I also take criticism. My English teacher says, "If criticism were cookies, we'd all be broke and obese. We'd all be really confused too." So true.**

**Toodles!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the chapter, sorry about the wait. **

**Like I said, first few chapters will be boring. There is some really odd stuff between Kiba and Ino at the end of the chapter. Rather, this is just a filler chapter. The next one will be up soon.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 2

_**Much Ado About... Nothing**_

Twelve shinobi stood at the gate to Konoha. They were the elite, as a team, because they had fought together for years and knew each other so well. Perhaps too well. You could tell they were determined, by the looks on their faces, the way they bore themselves, and the light in their eyes. They would not rest peacefully until Sasuke came home.

Konoha was his home. He just might need some persuasion to realize that.

They hadn't made a particularly good start the very first day. They, in fact, hadn't made much progress at all towards the wave country. They had made about eighty kilometers worth of distance over the course of the day... however, it was partially intentional. They wanted to lure Sasuke into a false sense of security. They wanted to make it seem that Konoha placed very little actual value in Naruto's well being.

**That night at camp...**

"Inoooooo have you seen Akamaru's chew-toy?" the brown-haired male asked his blond-haired companion, smiling with a fake innocence. Ino was sitting on a log around the fire in the middle of the camp. Shino had his insects watching the area, so there was no need for a watch. Most of the others had gone to bed. Neji had gone for a walk.

"Do I look like I would want to touch something like that?" Ino sent him a sharp glare, which clearly said, "_Eww, back off dog boy."_

"I don't know what you like to touch, but I think I'd like to," Kiba responded, smirking.

Ino blushed heavily. "You were just waiting with that line, weren't you?" She had an "interest" in the canine-loving shinobi. She wouldn't call it an infatuation, or a crush, or even a sexual desire. She was curious. Someone who was so... connected to dogs could be capable of many things that she might never have thought of. _Not sexually speaking, of course._

"Maaaaaaybeeeh," Kiba replied, sliding out the word as his smirk grew all the wider. "Did ya like it?" He leaned over so his face was next to her ear, his hot breath sending goosebumps down her spine.

"No," Ino replied, turning her face away so that he wouldn't see her blush deepen any more. The night can only hide so many things. _He's going to play like that? Fine, I can play too. I just won't dance to his tune._

"Well hows about when we get to the Wave Country, we try this again, and I buy you a drink and we talk it out like the mature adults that our parents wish we were?" Kiba said slyly, his voice toned down to a husky whisper. "You know you want to. I can," he took a deep whiff of the back of Ino's neck, "smell it."

"Back off, Kiba," she growled. This was going to be too fun.

"I take that as a yes?"

"Of course not."

"Make that seven then?"

"In your dreams."

"See you then."

"Bastard."

Ino stormed off to the girls tent, determined that a long girl chat would clear her thoughts.

Neji knew there was a lot he should be thinking about. A lot he wasn't thinking about because it didn't exactly occur to him that it mattered. But nonetheless, it plagued his thoughts. Why did it hurt to see anyone else talk to Tenten? Why could he not meet her eye? Why couldn't he bring himself to challenge Naruto again to prove his ultimate superiority? Why couldn't he live up to the Hyuuga name?

He heard footsteps, light, but unmasked. He shifted to his Byakugan once more, to find out who was following him. "Lady Hinata, you should be resting. Your father would not appreciate you being up this late at night. It is not ladylike."

The shy, lavender-haired girl stepped out from the shadows. Over the years, she had matured. No longer was she weak, careless. She had also matured physically. If Neji were not so closely related to her, he might have found her attractive. Possibly, even worthy of his attention. But no. For now, she was stuck on the daemon-boy.

**"**Neji, I-I wanted to ask you something... and I would appreciate it if you did not tell my father," Hinata said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Your wish is my command, Lady Hinata. I live to serve the Main Branch," Neji replied, his thoughts not even pausing to formulate the response. It was so instinctive to say that. He didn't even think about anything else.

"N-Naruto... why does he never notice me?" There was an edge of hurt in her voice, and Neji, without looking at her, could tell she was on the verge of crying. "Please tell me you know."

"Naruto is, to be blunt, Lady Hinata, quite oblivious to the world around him. He sees his current goal and nothing else. Were his goal you, Lady Hinata, you would know it quite well." Neji hadn't intended to come off quite as harsh. However, he had been asked the question. He answered to the best of his ability. He heard quiet sobs from the direction of his cousin. "I shall put in a favorable word with some of the others." He had to get her out of his hair so he could _think_. About what, he wasn't sure. But anything was preferable to his cousin's rantings.

It was something that most guys either dreaded or wanted to see: girl talk. ( Ino slid inside the girls' tent, the blush on her face apparent from Kiba's flirting.

"What is it now, pig?" Sakura asked, not even once taking her eyes off the book she was reading. Hinata was gone, and Tenten was sharpening one of her kunai.

"Kiba's flirting with me," Ino spilled, but it sounded like "Kibahshbleddehshlaftke."

"Salutations and good day to you," Tenten snorted.

"Kiba is flirting with me," Ino repeated, slowly.

"Congratulations," Sakura said, still not looking away from what she was doing. Neither did Tenten.

"You two are terrible," Ino sighed, falling down onto her sleeping bag, her head landing in Sakura's lap and dislodging her book. Her former rival looked down at her, narrowing her eyes.

"I was reading that," Sakura snarled.

"Yeah, and Inuzaka Kiba asked me out when we got to the Wave Country. HE asked ME out on a DATE," Ino snarled back.

"Like she said, congratulations Ino," Tenten muttered. She moved on from one of her kunai to one of her longer knives.

"You don't want details? What kind of teenage girls are you?"

"Sane ones," Tenten and Sakura replied simultaneously.

"Just because you two are ridiculously in love with human ice cubes doesn't mean the rest of us have to limit our prospects," Ino said, trying to get a reaction. Tenten stiffened and Sakura bucked up with her hips, sending Ino's head onto the hard ground. "Owww...," she muttered, "Sorry I said anything."

"You're not forgiven," Sakura grumbled.

"Tenten, I bet you couldn't seduce Neji if you stood naked in front of him. Or with lacy underwear, or whatever his fetish is," Ino rolled over so she was fully on her sleeping bag and put her head in her hands.

"No bet," Tenten growled.

"Does he even have hormones? Does he even have a... you know... penis?" Ino said, blushing at the last word.

Tenten was becoming more and more furious with every "joke" Ino made. Friend or not, this was dangerous territory. "Shut up!"

"Aren't you curious, forehead?"

Sakura didn't respond.

"You are insufferable," Tenten said, and stormed out of the tent.

_Mission accomplished._

**The next chapter should be more interesting. **

**Reviews = fuel for chapters. **

**Also, I thank Astrocam for the beta'ing. You should too.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! Really appreciate it.**

**Gotten some questions about when the Sasusaku is coming. It's coming later, but I am keeping you fed with other pairings until then.**

**This chapter is ridiculously short. Sorry. I am going to put up chapter 4 tomorrow most likely.**

**I do not own Naruto, etc.**

Chapter 3

_**The Threads Unwind**_

Kakashi knew everything that had transpired the night before. How, no one else knew. Why; well, he was Kakashi after all. But he wouldn't let his students know that. It was amusing to watch relationships form. Relationships that would eventually see them through the coming days.

It was days like this, watching love bloom, that he missed his old friends and teammates. Rin and Obito, long before he started taking genin students, died during missions. Different missions. Rin was supposedly escorting a fuedal lord across country borders, but the group had been attacked. There were no survivors. Or bodies for that matter. But the head of the feudal lord that the group had been escorting showed up in a package on the Hokage's desk the next morning.

The group approached a bridge, and an especially long one at that. It had been a couple of years since Kakashi had been to this area, but even he didn't remember the bridge. There also wasn't a river the last time he was here.

"Watch yourselves," Kakashi said to Sakura, who quickly repeated it to the rest of the group.

He stuck his hand in his back pocket, pulled out his favorite book and a pair of shuriken. He opened the latest edition and kept the shuriken hidden in the pages of the book.

"What are you doing, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "Put away that book already… we _are_ on a mission."

"We are walking on a road, Sakura," Kakashi smiled. "There is no reason not to enjoy the splendors of life."

"Pervert..." Sakura grumbled.

They approached the bridge, and something seemed out of place about it. They still didn't see the end of the bridge.

Yeah, something was definitely not right.

A flash of black and red. That was all the careless guard saw before his head rolled onto the floor.

_Foolish._ Sasuke kicked the dead body aside as he silently slipped through the building. It was a morgue, in Ame. Since Konan had left the Akatsuki, anyone related to the Akatsuki had been banned from Amegakure. But he had to know. Madara said that he had dropped off Itachi's body in Ame, so if it was anywhere, it was here.

Sasuke replaced his Kusanagi, and drew his cloak around him. His Sharingan darted wildly, checking every corner for any trace of movement. _Clear_.

He dashed around the corner, into the morgue itself. There was a woman there, operating on a dead body. Sasuke slid silently up to the woman and held a kunai to her throat.

"Uchiha Itachi! Where is his body?" he snarled into her ear.

"L-let me check the records!" The woman stammered, paralyzed with fear.

"You attempt to alert anyone and I will kill you," Sasuke replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He let go of the woman, and she made her way over to a filing cabinet.

"We have no records of an Uchiha Itachi."

"Temari," the red-haired Kazekage spoke to his sister in a loving tone. It was a tone that was new to him. Even since Naruto had shown him the true meaning for his existence during the Chuunin exams, he still had trouble latching onto his emotions. He could love with the most basic levels, but differentiating between love for his people, romantic love, and sibling love, was far too complicated.

He was not a moron, an idiot, or an imbecile by any measure. He was simply emotionally challenged. However, with the removal of the Shukaku, those basic human emotions were revealed to him. His sister was his sister. His people were his people. He differentiated the different emotions.

The Sand had never abandoned him. Regardless of the presence of the Shukaku or not, it responded to his call. It was exhausting now, much more than it had been, but there were remnants of the Bijuu's power that could never be removed.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage?" Temari replied, using the title with a large coat of sarcasm.

"Konoha is beginning a mission to guard Naruto and keep him moving, as no one place is safe from the predations of the Akatsuki. You will rendezvous with Konoha's military forces in Kirigakure."

"Hai, Lord Kazekage," Temari replied, smirking.

"Temari..." Gaara groaned.

**Gotta love Gaara. And yes, I am a huge fan of cliffies. **

**Read, review, etc.**

**Toodles!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am soooo sorry about the late update! So much stuff happening, its kind of scary.**

**It has also come to my attention that there are some errors in the translation from Google docs to word to FF. I am going to be proofreading these abit more carefully, but if you could let me know if there are any glaring errors, it'd be appreciated.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

_**Realisation.**_

There was no mistaking it now... it had to be a trap. Kakashi could feel the hairs on the back of his neck pricking up. Only two times did that happen. When there was genjutsu present, and when there was an erotic scene in front of him. The latter did not seem likely, for there were no naked women posed in curious positions anywhere within the sight of his one eye.

"Sakura, genjutsu," Kakashi muttered, before forming a hand seal with his hands, "Kai!"

The genjutsu flickered, but did not dissipate. It was strong.

"You'll never cross this bridge unless you pay up. All your money," a voice appeared out of nowhere. It was a deep, basso voice, and it created a false fear within Kakashi that could only be a part of a very powerful genjutsu. The feeling, though, was familiar.

"Pay or die. No one can escape my genjutsu," the voice said.

Kakashi lifted up his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan. The Sharingan gave him the ability to break nearly any Genjutsu. He formed the seal again. "Kai!" The genjutsu shattered.

His team was still trapped in the genjutsu. There was no way that he could get them out of it without opening himself up to attack.

He had to do this alone.

He could feel the chakra presence off in the woods, to the east, about eighty meters. It wasn't very hard to find it... so if the shinobi who could trap a group of skilled Jounin or higher class ninja was out there, they were very limited in their talents.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Kakashi lowered his mask to spout a great fireball from his mouth, and he sent it towards the chakra presence.

"Suiton: Baku Suishouha! Suiton: Sujinheki!" A wall of watter cut off Kakashi's attack, extinguishing the fireball. "Suiton, Suiryuudan no jutsu!" The remaining water formed into a gigantic dragon, which turned and leered its head at Kakashi.

Without seeing his opponent, Kakashi had no idea what their next move, so he took the only move he could think of. "Doton: Doryuu Heki!" He quickly let the mud wall raise, and he jumped back. He reached into his back pocket and removed a scroll. He bit his thumb and wiped his thumb across the inscription. A katana, completely white, appeared, and Kakashi grabbed it.

"Raikiri!" Kakashi broke his own mud wall, and used his Raikiri to cut through the water dragon.

"Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu!"

Too late had Kakashi realized his mistake. The water from the water dragon was hiding his opponents original ploy. The water around him suddenly came crashing down on him. Kakashi gripped his blade with two hands, and ran his Raikiri through the blade. White lightning exploded from the blade, and he swung the sword in a downward slash.

The blade never even touched the ground, but where it swung, a great furrow appeared. From the path of his blade, an arc of white chakra appeared and shot out at a speed that even Kakashi's Sharingan could not track.

The water around him dissipated. That was a sure sign.

Kakashi picked up the sheath and string that had been discarded when he had summoned his father's old blade. After it had been broken in battle many years before, he had set much of his spare time to reforging it, making his chakra an integral part of the reforging. Kakashi knew that while a tanto was practical for assassination, it was not for any other type of fighting. During his time in the ANBU, he had become incredibly proficient with a blade. He reforged the Sakumo's blade in that form.

He sheathed the blade and tied it to his chest. It was a practiced motion, something he had done many times during his time in the ANBU. He was wounded, but barely. But he was also last attack had taken a lot out of him.

He walked towards the figure who he had been fighting. He could sense that they were still alive. However, he didn't have the chakra to heal them. He could, easily, did he have the chakra. The Sharingan had its uses.

The sight before him stole his breath away.

"Sasuke, where have you been?" Madara said, chiding him on his lateness. He had no idea that Sasuke had been investigating about his brother. And that Sasuke had plans of his own.

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"Watch your tone with me, boy," Madara growled. Madara wasn't usually in this bad a mood.

"What did Konoha do this time?" Sasuke droned monotonously. Like he cared. He didn't want anything to do with that village.

"They moved Naruto to a place that I cannot seem to find... however, we have a spy in their midst who will be transmitting their coordinates once they rendezvous with the Kyuubi. You will track them down, our associate will incapacitate them, and you will quickly steal away with the Kyuubi," Madara explained.

"Aren't you supposed to hold out on the juicy details for when you're face-to-face with the 'hero' of the story?" Sasuke said sarcastically. "I thought that was 'World Domination 101.'"

"Insolent wretch," Madara grumbled. The rest of Sasuke's team took that moment to enter.

"Whose turn is it to die?" Suigetsu said, yawning sleepily.

"I'm sure Sasuke has something much more elaborate in mind than that, ne?" Karin said, her eyes glazing over with lust as she glanced over at Sasuke.

"Sycophant..." Suigetsu muttered. Karin's hand instantaneously collided with his head, splattering his body into water.

"Stop it. Now," Sasuke growled.

"Of course Sasuke!" Karin chimed.

"Sycophant," Suigetsu repeated upon reforming his body.

Sasuke left his team to their antics and departed from the room, returning to his personal quarters. Strategizing was not his strong suit. He would usually leave the minutia of plans to others- it was below his pay-grade, so to speak. But with so few members of Akatsuki actually alive, it became difficult to allocate anything.

He had to come up with his own plan.

Gaara watched the setting sun from the roof of the Kazekage's building. It was a peaceful thing. His guards, at his behest, had left him alone. There was no real point in anyone trying to assassinate Gaara. The great shinobi nations knew about the Shukaku being taken from him, so he, in their eyes, was no threat. He had been training, though, to compensate for his lack of a bijuu.

The Shukaku's presence, though, had its benefits, even in its absence. The sand had become a part of his blood, his essence, his spirit. The researchers had told him that because the sand was attuned to his actual chakra, it would become something of a kekkei-genkai for him. The thought gave him, if anything at all, a measure of joy. He didn't realize how much he had come to depend on the sand until it was gone.

Something shifted within the sand in the air behind Gaara. He knew he didn't have to extend his chakra awareness to know someone was there. Someone trying to get behind him without his knowledge was most likely an assassin. Gaara called upon the sand in the air, asking it to formulate around whoever was behind him. It obeyed its commands.

"What do you want?" Gaara asked to whoever was trying to creep up behind him.

"How did you survive the Bijuu extraction?" A deep voice spoke to him. From what Gaara could tell, the person meant no harm. However, anyone from the great shinobi nations who would be interested in his survival would know the secret of Chiyo's sacrifice.

"Sabaku Kyuu," Gaara growled. The sand around the voice clamped down on top of its source. Gaara extended his self through the sand, and he felt how it moved against his opponent's skin. In his mind's eye, he made out the face. He wasn't blind. He could have turned and seen the face of his opponent. But his sand awareness allowed him to know anything he needed to about his opponent. Where he was weak, how strong he was, his chakra levels, and the like.

"I'll ask again, what do you want? You are no friend to this village." Despite his training, holding the sand in a coffin around his adversary was difficult. He could not do anything else.

"I want Naruto to survive the extraction!" The figure spluttered. Gaara sensed the man's weakness, and how badly injured his body was. The Kazekage let him down to the ground and released him from his bonds, but left his hands and feet encased in sand, but trapped against the ground.

"Tensei ninjutsu," Gaara said. "You should be dead. Go, before I make that reality."

**Creepy much? Kudos if you can guess who Gaara's mystery assailant is.**

**And yes, love Gaara.**

**I'll try to be better about updating.**

**Thanks for reading, and reviews are my crack, so make me an addict please,**


	5. Chapter 5

**I would appreciate if all of you that favorited would tell me why you favorited, what you want from the story, etc. I know I sound like a pompous whiny bitch, but well *shrug* thats me.**

**Anyhow, this one will answer some questions and leave twice as many. I hope you enjoy it!**

**I do not own Naruto, and if I did then life would really suck.**

Chapter 5

_**Enigma**_

Kakashi looked down on a brown haired, well built woman dressed in the plain brown clothing of a bandit. "You never could beat me," Kakashi muttered.

The woman looked up, her hazel eyes tinted with anger and hate. "Don't you think I remember, Kakashi? You going to kill me?" she said, coughing up blood. Her torso was a mass of cuts from Kakashi's latest attack, which she had attempted to block, but failed.

"I could never kill you. You were my friend. You made me who I am today."

"Obito did that, not me. You killed him."

"You used to love me."

"Go to hell."

"I missed you, Rin. I'm so sorry."

Silence ensued. Rin had passed out.

* * *

Kakashi sensed Sakura approaching from behind him. "Sakura, please, heal her." With that, Kakashi passed out as well.

"Lord Kazekage, you cannot do this!" Baki yelled as Gaara prepared his pack for travel and slung it over his longer did he carry the gigantic gourd of sand on his back. He couldn't afford to continuously pump chakra into it anymore.

"I have business to attend to. Watch over the village in my absence. That is my order, Baki-sensei, you will follow it," Gaara said, his voice cold and with an expression in his icy blue eyes that said 'There is no room for argument here. My decision is final.'

"At least let us send an escort, Gaara! You are vulnerable in your current state!" Baki said. "At least take Kankuro!"

"My brother will remain to assist in watching over the village. All three of us cannot be missing from this village at the same time." Gaara turned on his former mentor. "I appreciate your sentiment, but this is something I must do alone."

"Very well, Gaara. Go, and may the sands watch over you."

Gaara turned around and departed through the Suna gate, leaving his home village behind once again. The last time he had done this, he had been unconscious after being knocked out by Deidara. The sands shifted beneath Gaara's feet and they created a small wormhole where he stood. Gaara sunk into the sand and disappeared.

"How long has he been able to do that?" mused one of the gate guards.

"He never runs out of surprises, it seems," Baki replied.

* * *

"We move out at dawn," Sasuke said, addressing his team. Juugo nodded silently. Suigetsu groaned.

"Why is it always dawn? Never get to sleep at all anymore," he complained.

"Quit your whining!" Karin screeched. "We'll be ready, Sasuke!"

"Our plan, as it is, is to confront the team that Konoha is sending to pick up Naruto. I will distract them while you take one of their members captive. Their goal is most likely my death anyways. I will leave once we have secured the target.

"That will force Naruto, out of an impulsive instinct, to come racing ahead of everyone else, perhaps with Kakashi trailing him, to race after our captive, and straight into a battlefield of our choosing, where the odds will be in our favor."

"Sasuke, that plan is so brilliant!" Karin cheered.

"Once the Kyuubi is sealed inside the statue, we will find the Hachibi and retrieve him once again. We will seal him. And then our plans can finally commence. The Juubi will be resurrected and sealed inside Madara, and he will have the strength to instate world domination.

"Naruto will die, and I will have my revenge as Konoha's last hope is snuffed out."

With Rin and Kakashi unconscious, Neji had taken over as acting captain, and had made the decision that they should head with all possible haste to the Wave Country. With Kakashi, their only Sharingan user and one of their strongest members, incapacitated, they were vulnerable.

"The Great Naruto Bridge," Sakura mused as they approached the now-completed bridge. It had taken years, but now the Wave country was flourishing with wealth and prosperity. "It's been so long."

"Sakura, you're making us all feel old," Ino muttered. "You were here 3 years ago, it hasn't been that long."

"I'm barely 16, that's a long time for me," Sakura retorted. "So what do you think Kiba's going to do with you tonight?"

Shikamaru, overhearing their conversation, decided to chime in. "Kiba asked out Ino? When?" He was only asking as a teammate, not out of jealousy or anything of the sort. Or so he thought.

"The other night, at camp. Apparently they were flirting madly and having verbal sex when he asked her out," Sakura said teasingly.

"T-That's not how it happened!" Ino said, blushing madly. The idea of having sex with _Kiba_ of all people infuriated and excited her at the same time.

"That's not how he tells it," Chouji stood walked up from behind them, Kakashi over his shoulder.

"How many people know about this?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if your father knew about it at this rate," Neji mused from in front of them. He had been walking next to Tenten, but neither of them had been speaking to each other.

"What would you know about it, Mr. Freeze?" Ino shot back. Tenten shot her a fierce glare. Ino stuck out her tongue.

"More than you would care to know," the Hyuuga prodigy replied.

"I swear you are all stalkers. These conversations are _private_," Ino said, glaring around at the men who had obviously eavesdropped on her conversations.

"You were in the middle of a camp, a very public area, mind you, and were surrounded by people on all sides. What did you expect us to do? Plug our ears whilst you two were having an erotic conversation out there?" Tenten growled.

"It was not _erotic_, unless you get off on assholes, and then you're all set with a certain ice cube," Ino glared.

"Apparently you do, you're the one that said yes," Sakura replied, smirking.

"You are insufferable," Ino groaned.

"Isn't that what I said?" Tenten asked.

"Do I look like I keep track of every word out of your mouth?"

"I don't think I would be friends with you if you didn't," Chouji said.

"Oh, screw my life."

Kiba walked up from behind her. "Did you say screw the life out of you? I'm fine with that." He wrapped his arms around her waist and bent his head down over her shoulder.

"Pervert!" Ino said, slapping his hands away playfully.

"You know you like it."

"Get a room," Kakashi said, waking up from over Chouji's shoulder. "I'm trying to sleep here."

* * *

"Old man Tazuna!"

"If it isn't our number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja from Konoha!" The elderly bridge builder chuckled. "You've sprouted like a weed!"

"Hehe... so how have you all been?" Naruto asked, embracing Tazuna.

"I've enough money to retire and have my family not work for the next thirty years because of that bridge. Most of the people here have started their own businesses and are all doing great. Because its so easy to get here now, we have a great vacation business as well!"

"NARUTO!"

Naruto turned away from the business man to see a small group of people off in the distance. He saw a flash of pink and immediately knew who they were.

"Sorry old man, gotta run!" With that, he ran as fast as he could to greet his comrades.

He embraced Sakura with a large hug. "I've missed you guys!"

"N-Naruto, I can't breathe," Sakura gasped. Naruto let her go.

"Sorry Sakura! Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi raised a hand from over Chouji's back. "Yo!"

"I don't even want to know," Naruto muttered. He then saw Rin tied up and slung over Neji's shoulder. "Who's that?"

"We don't know, but I think Kakashi does," Neji replied. "She trapped us in a genjutsu, a strong one, whilst we were coming here. Kakashi managed to break the Genjutsu, and by the time we recovered, he had incapacitated her."

"I see," Naruto said, his hand on his chin.

"No you don't, baka," Sakura said.

"Doesn't mean I can't pretend!" Naruto laughed.

Kakashi finally decided to slither down from Chouji's shoulder. "Naruto, tomorrow we're going to start some training. There's one thing you still have to learn before You'll be ready to face Sasuke. Its a a technique he cannot copy, or predict."

"Awesome!" Naruto said, leaping up into the air.

Sakura regarded her old teammate in the few weeks it had been since they had last met... and left, on bad terms. His hair had grown out some, falling down to the sides of his face as well as that wild bush on the top of his head.

He looked like his father. Sakura didn't know for sure up until that point, but she knew for sure now. He was the Yondaime's son.

* * *

_**That night...**_

"Lazy little dog boy... he's got the sense of time of a mutt as well..." Ino growled. She was waiting outside her room in one of the finer hotels of the Wave Country, constantly looking around and checking the time to see if Kiba was going to stand her up or not. It was 7:27.

The brown haired ninja rushed around the corner, quite comically, and scrambled on four legs down to her. "Sorry Ino!" he said.

"You've made _such_ a good impression already," Ino said sarcastically while laughing at him. "Now where are we having dinner?"

"You'll see." Kiba whipped out a blindfold and put it over her eyes.

"You're taking me to a dark alley aren't you?" Ino said as she felt herself being picked up.

"Only if you want me to," Kiba responded.

_Oh you're getting it, dog-boy,_ Ino thought maliciously. "You are _such_ a man, Kiba. You only think with your penis."

"Well that explains your comment about Neji... now we know he's a girl!" Kiba responded.

"You are creeping me out!" Ino laughed, remembering her comment to Tenten.

"Nah, Akamaru decided he wanted to sleep outside, and he relayed to me your conversation."

"What is this? Multi-syllable words? I'm impressed! Someone has learned some new tricks."

"You're begging for that alley," Kiba growled.

"You're begging for my foot up your ass."

"No, not an anal person. I prefer traditional, maybe a little blowing here and there."

"You pervert!" Ino laughed, slapping him. She felt the cool night's air hit her face. followed by the smell of the sea. "Mmmmmm," she purred.

"Like that? You'll love what I have in store, then."

"I better. I've been way too lenient with you lately."

"Meh, we'll see." Kiba finally set her down. Beneath her feet, Ino could feel the sand under her feet. She removed the blindfold.

"Kiba…" she gasped, without anything else that she could say. The sun was setting over the rolling sea, framing it in a beautiful red glow. A blanket was laid over the sand; a delicious meal was strewn out over it. She turned around and looked at the shaggy-haired shinobi, saying, "You hopeless romantic." And then she kissed him.

* * *

**If I were not the author, I think I might be going "aww."**

**In anycase, read, review, and critique.**

**I have been having technical difficulties so I'm going to try to get all my chapters up on to FF so this doesnt happen again.**


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